NGC 2682 Sand 978 b

Astrophysical Synthesis & Habitability Characterization

NGC 2682 Sand 978 b is a confirmed gas giant exoplanet orbiting the star NGC 2682 Sand 978, located approximately 2680.7 light-years (821.92 parsecs) from the Solar System. First announced in 2017 by Multiple Observatories using the Radial Velocity detection technique (measuring periodic Doppler reflex motion in the host star's spectrum), this world measures 13.3 Earth radii (1.19 Jupiter radii) and has a measured mass of 692.869 Earth masses (2.18 Jupiter masses). Combining its mass and radius yields a mean bulk density of 1.62 g/cm³ (a low bulk density dominated by an extended hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope), a surface gravity of 3.92 g⊕ (38.44 m/s²), and an escape velocity of 80.7 km/s.

In its orbital architecture around NGC 2682 Sand 978, NGC 2682 Sand 978 b completes one full revolution every 511.21 Earth days (1.4Julian years). Its moderate orbital eccentricity of e = 0.16 driving measurable seasonal insolation cycles.

☁️ Atmospheric Regime (Volatile / Gas Envelope): With a radius of 13.300 R⊕, NGC 2682 Sand 978 b exceeds the empirical ~1.8–2.2 R⊕ Fulton radius valley threshold, indicating a substantial hydrogen-helium or supercritical volatile envelope without a conventional solid terrestrial surface.

The host star NGC 2682 Sand 978 is classified as an orange K-type star of spectral type K4 III with an effective photospheric temperature of 4,200 K, a radius of 21.0174 R☉, a mass of 1.37 M☉, an estimated bolometric luminosity of 123.323 L☉. Stellar evolution modeling indicates a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.02 dex (near-solar heavy-element abundance). From Earth, NGC 2682 Sand 978 shines at apparent V-band magnitude 9.814 (accessible to binoculars and small amateur telescopes) in the Northern celestial hemisphere.

Discovery Facility: Multiple Observatories · Catalogue Source: NASA Exoplanet Archive (IPAC / Caltech).